Contents

Outline

Part 1: Losing Faith

Spreading the Good News

In this chapter, Barker gives a brief autobiography, from the age of
15 when he felt called to preach. He describes his career as a
musician and preacher, and finally a thirst for knowledge that
eventually eroded his faith and turned him from a
fundamentalist to a liberal Christian and finally into an
atheist.

Ripples: From Faith to Reason

Wanting to make a clean break with the past, Barker sent a letter to
his family, friends, and business associates announcing his
deconversion, and got a wide variety of reactions. Some
friendships survived, others were destroyed. He sees this as a
crucible that showed him which friendships were solid and which ones
were not.

As a result of the discussions resulting from this letter, both of
Barker's parents became atheists. His story was featured in a
newspaper, which led to correspondence with his current wife,
Annie Laurie Gaylor.